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Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thailand: Day 11
Monday the 18th of January was our 11th day in Thailand. We decided to take another trip into a different part of the island city to see the sights and do some local shopping. We took a shuttle that morning into Phuket Town or the old Phuket. This is a very local area where not many tourist go and is more business related.....totally opposite of Patong which is pretty much for tourist and nightlife. I really enjoyed Phuket Town and wish we would have shopped there both trips but I am glad we saw Patong. We hit the jackpot in Phuket Town. The shops were sssssoooo cheap and awesome. I loaded up on some great jewelery pieces and a very classy dress that I can't wait to wear when I get home. I also finished up on some souvenir shopping as did Mia. When the hotel shuttle dropped us off that morning the taxi business owner gave us a lot of tips on where to go throughout our day. He even offered for a small (and I mean small) fee to stay with us all day long and drive us wherever we wanted and wait for us outside. He didn't go but is wife did and she was very helpful. The first place we went to was the biggest book store on the island of Phuket to find Mia a Thai Vogue. She gets a Vogue from each country, but unfortunately Thailand is very westernized, to a point, and they didn't have a Vogue of their own only the UK version. Next, we went to a souvenir showroom that had tons of jewelry. It wasn't the type of place we were expecting but it got the job done and we finished up our souvenir shopping there. Mia collects Vogues and I collect scarves from each country I visit. I started this in Germany. I wanted a good souvenir and I also wanted to start collecting things from the places I had been but I don't like trinkets and things like that so I had the idea of scarves. You can get unique scarves that represent the place you got it at and they are light and easily packable....to me the PERFECT souvenir. So at the souvenir showroom I got two beautiful scarves. After we finished our gift shopping it was lunch time and we wanted to eat at a local authentic Thai restaurant and that is what we got. The lady took us to the Bay Restaurant and we had fried rice, I had fish, and Mia (the American) had chicken. LOL! After our very filling lunch we got dropped off at the center of the main shopping area and were set free to shop till we dropped. Again, we didn't get to shop until we dropped or until we ran out of money...this time we shopped until we ran out of time. There were so many little stores and streets to go up and down we had a hard time deciding where to go. We were enjoying ourselves so much we were going to opt for a later shuttle back to the hotel and see a movie at the nearby theater but they were only showing Thai movies that day. :( That was OK though and we were very happy with all our finds. I highly recommend this area for souvenirs and just shopping in general. Here you will get a taste of Thailand's cheap prices and a variety of shops ranging from local to the tourist but this area is vastly different from it's sister Patong.
Looking out from our table at the Bay Restaurant.
OK, so the whole trip Mia had been bugging me about renting a scooter. I (being the smart one) always told her NO. First, neither one of us had ever driven one, second they drive on the "wrong" side of the road in Thailand and third they drive like maniacs and we would for sure get killed. After our trip to Phuket Town we dropped our goods off at the hotel and headed down to a little restaurant we had been told was down the road a little bit from the hotel. We took out walking and didn't know where we were going but knew it wasn't that far because our scuba instructor goes there for lunch and had described the place to us. We walked about a mile and made it to our destination and the first thing we see are two scooters for rent. GREAT!!!! Mia of course begs me to rent one for an hour or two. I thought this is a bad idea but if we are going to do it then it might as well be here. There was ZERO other vehicles around, there was a looped road that went around a deserted lake so I thought OK we can do this....take a little ride, Mia gets her way and we are all happy. All the while I am thinking this is such a bad idea. Me and two wheeled things DEFINITELY don't mix unless it is a bicycle (something I can control). I mean I had just recovered from my Segway accident in Austria where I had to go to the hospital because I passed out and quit breathing after wrecking...so I know this is a BAD idea. I go against my instincts and rent the stupid bike, grab a helmet, and we are off. Mia is driving and I am riding and we get off to a good start. We are putting along at a slow but reasonable pace around our little lake enjoying the scenery. All of a sudden we come out of this corner in the road and Mia just lets off the gas. I ask her "MIA WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GIVE IT GAS!" Then she started wobbling and we CRASH!!! Mia gets thrown forward and I on top and over her. We jump up and I am freaking out. Mia's elbows and knee are all bleeding and banged up and my hand is missing a lot of skin and my finger nail some how has been ripped back and is hanging. (lets remember Megan has very short nails so this is a hard thing to do). We make sure each is alive and then we start inspecting the damage. The mirror on the scooter is broken and the side is all scratched up but other than that we are good. We push the scooter out of the ditch and back on the road so we can figure our next move. After I get my head on straight I think CRAP NOW WE HAVE TO RIDE THE THING BACK TO THE STORE. This totally freaks me out as we have already wrecked once and I don't think we will survive the next...Mia says she is good to go so we get back on and take off back to the store a bit shaken. Mia is driving back and I am terrified we are going to die. She keeps letting off the gas. She says "I don't want to tip over in the corners". I say "We are going to tip over from NOT giving it gas!!!" I had to constantly remind her to keep giving it gas where we wouldn't tip. Thank God we got back to the store and turned the scooter in alive. All the locals were laughing at us, as it is VERY common that people are always wrecking. There is even a name for your wounds, a Phuket tattoo. We had to pay for the broken mirror and then we got a ride back to our hotel. The whole reason going for down there was to get noodles from the little Thai restaurant but we never even made it that far. LOL When we got back to the hotel they called a doctor for us and he came to patch us up. I was very upset/mad about the whole ordeal but now it is a little bit funny, but not too funny.
Can you see the little kid excitement in Mia's smile? I can!!!
Enjoying the scenery.
Our Phuket tattoos....it doesn't look like much but we were both missing a lot of skin and if we would of had any skin left we would have probably needed stitches but there really wasn't anything to stitch. My skin on my hand is finally growing back.
Looking out from our table at the Bay Restaurant.
OK, so the whole trip Mia had been bugging me about renting a scooter. I (being the smart one) always told her NO. First, neither one of us had ever driven one, second they drive on the "wrong" side of the road in Thailand and third they drive like maniacs and we would for sure get killed. After our trip to Phuket Town we dropped our goods off at the hotel and headed down to a little restaurant we had been told was down the road a little bit from the hotel. We took out walking and didn't know where we were going but knew it wasn't that far because our scuba instructor goes there for lunch and had described the place to us. We walked about a mile and made it to our destination and the first thing we see are two scooters for rent. GREAT!!!! Mia of course begs me to rent one for an hour or two. I thought this is a bad idea but if we are going to do it then it might as well be here. There was ZERO other vehicles around, there was a looped road that went around a deserted lake so I thought OK we can do this....take a little ride, Mia gets her way and we are all happy. All the while I am thinking this is such a bad idea. Me and two wheeled things DEFINITELY don't mix unless it is a bicycle (something I can control). I mean I had just recovered from my Segway accident in Austria where I had to go to the hospital because I passed out and quit breathing after wrecking...so I know this is a BAD idea. I go against my instincts and rent the stupid bike, grab a helmet, and we are off. Mia is driving and I am riding and we get off to a good start. We are putting along at a slow but reasonable pace around our little lake enjoying the scenery. All of a sudden we come out of this corner in the road and Mia just lets off the gas. I ask her "MIA WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GIVE IT GAS!" Then she started wobbling and we CRASH!!! Mia gets thrown forward and I on top and over her. We jump up and I am freaking out. Mia's elbows and knee are all bleeding and banged up and my hand is missing a lot of skin and my finger nail some how has been ripped back and is hanging. (lets remember Megan has very short nails so this is a hard thing to do). We make sure each is alive and then we start inspecting the damage. The mirror on the scooter is broken and the side is all scratched up but other than that we are good. We push the scooter out of the ditch and back on the road so we can figure our next move. After I get my head on straight I think CRAP NOW WE HAVE TO RIDE THE THING BACK TO THE STORE. This totally freaks me out as we have already wrecked once and I don't think we will survive the next...Mia says she is good to go so we get back on and take off back to the store a bit shaken. Mia is driving back and I am terrified we are going to die. She keeps letting off the gas. She says "I don't want to tip over in the corners". I say "We are going to tip over from NOT giving it gas!!!" I had to constantly remind her to keep giving it gas where we wouldn't tip. Thank God we got back to the store and turned the scooter in alive. All the locals were laughing at us, as it is VERY common that people are always wrecking. There is even a name for your wounds, a Phuket tattoo. We had to pay for the broken mirror and then we got a ride back to our hotel. The whole reason going for down there was to get noodles from the little Thai restaurant but we never even made it that far. LOL When we got back to the hotel they called a doctor for us and he came to patch us up. I was very upset/mad about the whole ordeal but now it is a little bit funny, but not too funny. 
Can you see the little kid excitement in Mia's smile? I can!!!
Enjoying the scenery.
Our Phuket tattoos....it doesn't look like much but we were both missing a lot of skin and if we would of had any skin left we would have probably needed stitches but there really wasn't anything to stitch. My skin on my hand is finally growing back.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thailand: Day 10
Day 10 of our Thailand trip we took the James Bond Island excursion. The James Bond movie "The Man With the Golden Gun" was filmed around this rock island and is the area's claim to fame. It was an all day trip that started out about 30 minutes from our hotel. It consisted of 2 cave visits, James Bond Island, and another little island for beach and relaxation. They served us an authentic Thai lunch that was very good and our guides were very informed of the area. There were only about 12 people on our trip so the boat wasn't crowded and everyone had there own space and time to relax. That made it really nice. Mia and I really enjoyed this trip and loved looking at the outer geography of the island. Our guide told us that there are over 40 limestone islands around Phuket. WOW! I had to say I was VERY glad for this trip to come because Mia finally had a reason to hum the James Bond theme song. Ever since I told her about it she had been killing me with the tune. LOL
The beginning of the trip at the boat dock.
The whole day we were constantly seeing these local fisherman with their gondola type boats.
On our way into the first cave. Our boat crew timed the excursion at a specific time because the tides come in and out and block off the entrance and exits of the caves. At some places the tide was high and the space so small we had to lay down in our boat to fit through.
Right after this picture was taken we were paddling around and our guide pointed out a nice meaty snake wrapped around a rock shard. EEEEWWWW
Going inside the second cave. This was more of a labyrinth of channels and rock formations that was sssoooo pretty. Our guide was so fun and helped us notice a lot of things that we would have never seen. I am sure that is from him doing the same trip daily. He pointed out many rocks that had been transformed into creatures. We saw a rock that looked like a Buddha and also one that looked like a dog head. There are also monkeys living on some of the islands but unfortunately we didn't see any that day.
Our canoe guide also was a great photographer. He was constantly telling us to pose here and there and he was very happy to take our picture. We were always having to lay down to come in and out of the small spaces in the rocks so he took this picture for us. I look like I am giving birth the Mia!!! LOL
The famous...drum roll please....JAMES BOND ISLAND
This is the island that had the big beach for us to relax and swim. We mainly just loaded up on some really neat sea shells and laid out.
The beginning of the trip at the boat dock.
The whole day we were constantly seeing these local fisherman with their gondola type boats.
On our way into the first cave. Our boat crew timed the excursion at a specific time because the tides come in and out and block off the entrance and exits of the caves. At some places the tide was high and the space so small we had to lay down in our boat to fit through.Right after this picture was taken we were paddling around and our guide pointed out a nice meaty snake wrapped around a rock shard. EEEEWWWW
Going inside the second cave. This was more of a labyrinth of channels and rock formations that was sssoooo pretty. Our guide was so fun and helped us notice a lot of things that we would have never seen. I am sure that is from him doing the same trip daily. He pointed out many rocks that had been transformed into creatures. We saw a rock that looked like a Buddha and also one that looked like a dog head. There are also monkeys living on some of the islands but unfortunately we didn't see any that day.
Our canoe guide also was a great photographer. He was constantly telling us to pose here and there and he was very happy to take our picture. We were always having to lay down to come in and out of the small spaces in the rocks so he took this picture for us. I look like I am giving birth the Mia!!! LOL
The famous...drum roll please....JAMES BOND ISLAND
This is the island that had the big beach for us to relax and swim. We mainly just loaded up on some really neat sea shells and laid out.
Thailand: Days 4-9
Over the next few days Mia and I just mostly lounged and were total beach and pool bums. Over the whole vacation I read 5 books. Yes 5, but we did get out and about a little. On the fourth day of our trip we took a shuttle down to Patong beach. This is the most touristy beach in Phuket and has many places to get souvenirs. This is also the prime place for nightlife but you will here more about that in later entries. We were in town for a couple hours and we shopped until we ran out of money, LOL instead of until we dropped. We did get some really great buys. Mia bought things for EVERYONE and I bought my parent's souvenirs then things for myself. I guess I am stingy but this is my philosophy on souvenir shopping....I only by for my parents because if I start buying for my brothers then I have to buy for my brother's girlfriend, my step sisters, their kids, then I have to buy for my close friends and so the vicious cycle continues until everyone but me has a piece of Thailand. That is why I only buy for my parents and then for myself. I mean it is MY trip and I think a lot of times the people you buy for are grateful but it isn't really the same since they weren't actually there, so unless it is something really great it will probably end up in the trash some where down the line anyhow. Anyways back to the story, I got some really great buys: a dress, an awesome t-shirt, a knock-off Coach purse, and a few other things I can't remember. Mia also got some great things for our family members and herself.
This is the shopping center we shopped at. It is set up market style so it is covered but still all open underneath and you just go up and down the rows of shops. After an hour or so we figured out that EVERY shop had the same exact things but just at different prices. We bartered our way around anyways and you might find something different if you really looked.
This is just a glance down a half way busy street in Phuket. Thai people are CRAZY drivers. Not only do they drive these little motorcycles around like mad men they follow no sort of road rules. Oh and they drive on the "wrong" side LOL. I was constantly wondering how many accidents happen a day, week, year etc.
These are the bracelets that Mia and I got that matched.
Observe the tuk tuk. This little thing is a taxi truck (tuk tuk). As you can see from the picture, you just load up in the back and hang on for dear life. (we never took one)
Mia and I are now boogie board professionals. This is me riding a wave in. Mia never really got the hang of it. She got wiped about a few times along with myself. Sometimes those waves would just sneak up on us and eat us alive.
Mia making her way to do something????
Our first sunset. We never got any super good pictures but it was very pretty.
This is a view that is looking from the pool back towards the hotel. They had little fire torches in all sorts of pools and when they were all lit they were so pretty.
Me trying out the water slide.
Mia was obsessed with getting pictures by these turtles.
Mia and I just relaxing at the pool.
The pictures above and below are of a sunset ceremony that the hotel did about every other day, I believe. These acrobatic dancers would dance around as the men were in the middle playing the drums and twirling fire sticks. It was very neat to watch.
This is the shopping center we shopped at. It is set up market style so it is covered but still all open underneath and you just go up and down the rows of shops. After an hour or so we figured out that EVERY shop had the same exact things but just at different prices. We bartered our way around anyways and you might find something different if you really looked. This is just a glance down a half way busy street in Phuket. Thai people are CRAZY drivers. Not only do they drive these little motorcycles around like mad men they follow no sort of road rules. Oh and they drive on the "wrong" side LOL. I was constantly wondering how many accidents happen a day, week, year etc.
These are the bracelets that Mia and I got that matched.
Observe the tuk tuk. This little thing is a taxi truck (tuk tuk). As you can see from the picture, you just load up in the back and hang on for dear life. (we never took one)
Mia and I are now boogie board professionals. This is me riding a wave in. Mia never really got the hang of it. She got wiped about a few times along with myself. Sometimes those waves would just sneak up on us and eat us alive.
Mia making her way to do something????
Our first sunset. We never got any super good pictures but it was very pretty.
This is a view that is looking from the pool back towards the hotel. They had little fire torches in all sorts of pools and when they were all lit they were so pretty.
Me trying out the water slide.
Mia was obsessed with getting pictures by these turtles.
Mia and I just relaxing at the pool.
The pictures above and below are of a sunset ceremony that the hotel did about every other day, I believe. These acrobatic dancers would dance around as the men were in the middle playing the drums and twirling fire sticks. It was very neat to watch.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Speaky the Deutch
I am a student of Deutch!!! I have always wanted to learn to speak German since it runs through my blood and I recently just got a whim to learn. I downloaded an audio book from iTunes and have been driving my office mates crazy in the mornings as I listen and repeat the words, phrases, and conversations. Wish my luck! Gute Nacht (good night) :)
Thailand: Day 3
On the third day in Thailand, after sunning ourselves at one of the other pools and hanging out at the beach we went to see the famous Phuket FantaSea. In short this is a Las Vegas style show that explains how the Phuket people came to be. According to the story, when the land was in a great war the king road up from the city in the ocean on his magic elephant and saved the land. The show was great. They had live elephants, acrobats, fire, and it was so colorful. Mia and I really enjoyed it. The park that it was set in was great too. It was a little kid's or a grown up that wants to be a kid again's fantasy.
On our way to FantaSea
The entrance
Our buffet restaurant
OK, these deserve a grand explanation. I had to take a picture of this little treat so I can make them when I get back in my kitchen. This is the ultimate banana desert. Pretty much it is a little crispy tortilla wafer thing on the bottom, a banana pudding type custard, slice of banana and a meringue cookie on top. All this was stacked into a bite size treat, these little snacks beat out any type of banana pudding plus can you say portion control. LOL!
Mia with a crazy mannequin. We had never seen mannequins with exciting facial expressions and wildly spray painted hair before.
Mia and I playing fair games...we didn't win :(
This globe was so beautiful. It is made entirely out of crystals and cost over 10 thousand dollars. I would love to have something like this in my home, maybe not as extravagant but just as beautiful.
Mia with her crazy tiger man.
Me in front of the elephant palace before the show.
OK, these deserve a grand explanation. I had to take a picture of this little treat so I can make them when I get back in my kitchen. This is the ultimate banana desert. Pretty much it is a little crispy tortilla wafer thing on the bottom, a banana pudding type custard, slice of banana and a meringue cookie on top. All this was stacked into a bite size treat, these little snacks beat out any type of banana pudding plus can you say portion control. LOL! Mia with a crazy mannequin. We had never seen mannequins with exciting facial expressions and wildly spray painted hair before.Mia and I playing fair games...we didn't win :(
This globe was so beautiful. It is made entirely out of crystals and cost over 10 thousand dollars. I would love to have something like this in my home, maybe not as extravagant but just as beautiful.
Mia with her crazy tiger man.The elephant palace
Me in front of the elephant palace before the show.